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Traffic Stop Puts Dad In Jail

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By LISA A. DAVIS

ldavis@tampatrib.com

Published: November 20, 2008

  Timothy Hall

MOON LAKE - Timothy Allen Hall wasn't far from home when a Florida Highway Patrol trooper spotted his silver Buick speeding on Lake Drive on Tuesday, according to a report.

That was just the start of the young father's troubles.

Just after 5 p.m., the trooper activated her car's lights and overtook the vehicle as it sped near Bayridge Avenue and then pulled over at 10960 Lake Drive, the mobile home on the corner.

Hall, 25, immediately stepped out of the car, and the trooper ordered him back inside for "officer safety reasons," a report states. Hall complied and began fumbling through his glove box while apologizing and explaining he just ran out to take out the trash.

The trooper smelled a strong odor of alcohol coming from Hall, who said he couldn't find his license, registration or proof of insurance, a report states.

When the trooper ran his license, she learned it had been suspended numerous times for several violations, including driving under the influence.

While she started paperwork, Hall asked if he could check on his two children inside the home they were parked in front of, and she asked whether they were alone. He repeated, according to the report, that he had only run out to put out the trash. A moment later, the front door of the house opened and a young girl stood inside crying.

The trooper went inside and found the house was a mess. One of the two children, who will turn 2 on Tuesday, walked out of his bedroom with a pack of Newport cigarettes in hand and one dangling from her mouth while she chewed on it, a report states.

A 5-year-old girl hugged the trooper and cried. She wanted to know when she could get her dad out of jail, and she told the trooper that her father didn't have a driver's license and had left them home alone before, according to the report.

The trooper also found marijuana in Hall's bedroom; according to the report, he told the trooper that he and his girlfriend smoke it but "that was all old."

Hall was arrested on three failure to appear warrants, which stem from worthless checks charges, driving with a suspended or revoked license with knowledge, drunken driving and child neglect charges.

He was being held at the Land O' Lakes Jail on Wednesday with bail set at $25,789.

Reporter Lisa A. Davis can be reached at (727) 815-1083.

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